Industry Expertise

Q4 is when most teams take a hard look at year-end targets and figure out how to close the gap while there is still time. A short-term sales incentive, often called a “spurt” or SPIFF, is one of the fastest ways to close the gap before the quarter ends. These programs...

Growth in the building and construction trades will not come from the market itself in 2027. It has to come from loyalty, specifically the loyalty of contractors and distributors who already carry your product line and recommend you first. That kind of loyalty does not...

Every incentive program starts strong when the rules are clear, the rewards are exciting and participation is high in the first few weeks. Then, a few months in, engagement can quietly start to drop off. Sales reps stop checking their progress. Channel partners forget what...

When it comes to motivating people to take steps that benefit your business, generic incentives (like cash bonuses) seem like the easiest way to do so. Anything from a flat bonus, a standard party, or a single reward everyone competes for is simple to set up. However, the...

When it comes to motivating your team, there are multiple reward structures to choose from within an incentive program. However, picking the wrong one is an easy way to spend budget without moving the needle for your business. Before you build (or rebuild) a program, it...

A Q&A with Brian McHugh, VP Client Solutions We’re past Labor Day and now hyper focused on ending the year with gusto. For many of our clients at Motivation Excellence that means looking at how to meet (or beat) Q4 goals and set themselves up for a running start to...

Year-over-year growth is always on the list of goals for business owners. It’s definitely a priority with our clients. In a strong market, simple demand for a product does part of the growth work for you: More homes get built More owners remodel More equipment...

Across every distribution channel, the person at the point of recommending a chosen product is becoming more valuable. Most distribution companies are investing in them ineffectively or just plain incorrectly. In HVAC, 68% of contractors say the counter or inside...

In March 2026, IMR (a leading automotive research firm) surveyed 500 independent repair shops about how they actually order parts. The finding that should concern every aftermarket manufacturer and distributor: on the multi-supplier aggregator platforms where 56% of shops now...

Every company has meetings: some to train, some to educate, some to motivate, and some to celebrate. But in order to achieve the results you want, you must ask yourself the question: Am I driving impact and engagement with the audience that will deliver on the investment...